KAZAN, June 30 (Xinhua) -- Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano announced his retirement from international football on Saturday after his team's 4-3 loss to France in the World Cup round of 16.

The result eliminated Argentina from football's showpiece tournament while France booked a place in the quarterfinals in Russia.

"The whole story is over," said Mascherano, who is Argentina's most capped player in history with 146 appearances.

The 34-year-old Hebei China Fortune player added: "We gave everything to the end. It was a crazy game where we did not start well before we recovered and turned it around. But their equalizer hurt us a lot.

"From now on I'll be just another fan of the Argentina team. It's over. The dream has finished."